Space Flight Demonstration of Rotating Detonation Engine Using Sounding Rocket S-520-31

Abstract

To create a new flyable detonation propulsion system, a detonation engine system (DES) that can be stowed in sounding rocket S-520-31 has been developed. This paper focused on the first flight demonstration in the space environment of a DES-integrated rotating detonation engine (RDE) using S-520-31. The flight result was compared with ground-test data to validate its performance. In the flight experiment, the stable combustion of the annulus RDE with a plug-shaped inner nozzle was observed by onboard digital and analog cameras. With a time-averaged mass flow of [Formula: see text] and an equivalence ratio of [Formula: see text], the RDE generated a time-averaged thrust of 518 N and a specific impulse of [Formula: see text], which is almost identical to the ideal value of constant pressure combustion. Due to the RDE combustion, the angular velocity increased by [Formula: see text] in total, and the time-averaged torque from the rotational component of the exhaust during 6 s of operation was [Formula: see text]. The high-frequency sampling data identified the detonation frequency during the recorded time as 20 kHz in the flight, which was confirmed by the DES ground test through high-frequency sampling data analysis and high-speed video imaging.

Experimental Pressure Gain Analysis of Pulsed Detonation Engine

“…It was also found that orbital transfer systems costs can be lowered by adopting PDCs [21,22], while the compact configuration of the engine makes it a suitable candidate for powering Unmanned (Combat) Aerial Vehicles [23] and rocket engines [19]. Currently, the advantages of pressuregain combustion propulsion systems are renewing interest in such engines, and interesting new developments in the field of detonation-based engines have been reported over the last year [24][25][26].…”

Effects of Injector Configuration on the Detonation Characteristics and Propulsion Performance of Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE)

“…Therefore, active research has been conducted on RDE over the past decade. In recent years, practical research and benefits have been reported [9][10][11][12] Research is being conducted to implement PGC, which is realized via detonative combustion. Wu et al [13] carried out thermodynamic cycle analyses and found that detonative combustion is not completely identical to the Humphrey cycle, but it generally has similar characteristics to the Humphrey cycle.…”

Experimental validation of rotating detonation for rocket propulsion

“…During this time, significant progress has been made in the research and development of rotating detonation engines [12][13][14][15] . A wide series of experimental investigations have explored various aspects of detonation-based propulsion systems including operability and performance [16][17][18][19] , injection response 4,20 , fundamental detonation structure [21][22][23][24] , effect of fuel and oxidizer compositions 25,26 , nozzle concepts 4,27 , system integration 28 , measurement techniques [29][30][31] and flight technology 32,33 . Although there is a large body of work characterizing various aspects of rotating detonation waves, there remains to be a coordinated effort to unify the results gathered under perfectly matching conditions for RDRE verification and validation.…”